Doctors and Patients Must Not Only Plug In But Connect

At the start of 2011, electronic health records were being used by just 15 percent of acute-care hospitals and 25 percent of physician practices, according to the American Hospital Association and the  National Center for Health Statistics. Thanks to some $30 billion in federal incentives , those numbers are expected to grow to 81 percent of hospitals and 41 percent of doctors over the next two years.

Reports keep piling up showing that patients are already eager users of online tools that allow them to research their disease, share insights with fellow sufferers, and manage their health records.

*A recent nationwide survey by the Pew Internet Project found that 59% of all U.S. adults have looked online for information about health topics, and 13% have searched online for others who might have health concerns similar to theirs.

* A French study released in May discovered that most cancer patients, when granted full access to their medical records at the beginning of treatment, appreciated the information and were better able to understand their disease

*A Manhattan Research survey of 2,041 U.S. physicians found that seven percent use online video conferencing to communicate with their patients and the number is expected to grow as doctors seek to to improve practice efficiency and expand their patient base. 

As trends clearly show that doctors and patients are taking advantage of emerging technology, next on the horizon must be using technology to rebuild the relationship between patient and physician.  Innovative communications technologies can enable patients to partner with their physicians in their own care and work together to personalize the treatment journey.  

InfoMedics’ innovative health technologies are at the nexus of this convergence of physician and patient into one powerful partnership. We are excited by efforts such as the newly formed Consumer Partnership for eHealth , a coalition of consumer, labor and patient advocacy groups created to push for the development of health information technologies that give patients a voice. “We are not interested in using technology to merely tweak a dysfunctional system,” the group said in a statement. ”We want to transform it.”

We recognize that putting in place transformative health technologies can be a complex process. To facilitate the move towards patient-physician engagement, InfoMedics works closely every day with our pharmaceutical clients to offer a variety of tools to ease the way to connection. Because as Dave deBronkart, who blogs as ePatient Dave , writes, “The change we’re experiencing is real, people. The ability to create value in healthcare depends on information, and patients’ access to valid and useful information is changing forever. ”

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